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The transformation towards an agile organization is a common topic of debate. However, many companies determined to carry out this process need more information on this subject. Understanding the root of this necessary change represents a crucial factor in the success of all organizations.

Brief History of Transformation

Change has been inherent for humankind since the beginning. The agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and the usage of electricity are some of the transformation landmarks that changed our lives.

The digital revolution is seen as the outbreak of our time, and it carries a unique differentiating component. Our daily lives and habits have been strongly influenced by devices that process more and more information and constantly shrink in size. This factor triggered modifications everywhere, especially in the older businesses founded before the digital disruption. They are in need of change and transformation to reinvent themselves and compete in the current market.

Change now happens at an unprecedented speed making the life cycle of a product shorter than before. For example, the boom of the portable music players some years ago is now obsolete. As consumers, we have developed a new role in which our leisure time, relationships, payments, and studies are carried out digitally. Nevertheless, fitting into our new work role seems to be more complex: constantly changing work habits makes people feel vulnerable. A new beginning, in which the experience and seniority are considered undeniable, represents a cultural challenge rather than a methodological one

Agile Transformation

Traditionally, organizations had well-defined structures and departments, professional growth was strictly vertical, and careers were utterly defined. This aligns with the common belief that people can trace a detailed and reliable life plan.

​"An agile organization can quickly adapt to changes thanks to its autonomous self-organized multidisciplinary teams"

 Many daily decisions, including those repetitive ones, followed an approval process that showed little empowerment and team autonomy. Both reaction and answer capacities were slow, our customer needs needed to be met, and competitiveness disappeared into thin air.

An agile organization can quickly adapt to changes thanks to its autonomous self-organized multidisciplinary teams that make decisions through an operational model that defies the concept of siloed organization.

Agile companies base their decisions on data, place the customer at the heart of it, and seek understanding through every touchpoint. It also capitalizes on every interaction of the journey, tests hypotheses, learns from the mistakes, gets involved in short cycles, works collaboratively, and eliminates all bureaucratic processes that may threaten its capacity for reaction and adaptation.

Leadership in Transformation

Leading the change poses an enormous challenge that has the potential to be positive or negative, depending on the eye of the beholder. Leaders are responsible for transmitting the vision of change that the organization's management presents. That is the reason why the first issue to tackle in any transformational process is the leadership model.

Leaders must be enablers, not controllers, so the person in charge of this taunting quest should foster safe environments to let the teams develop the needed autonomy to react.

Building collaborative teams is necessary but not enough. The agile model flourishes when the organization adapts its mindset. A team that displays a clear concept of the desired outcome should be able to act and decide on the best decision to make autonomously.

The leader should motivate, inspire, and follow the individual transformative process of every collaborator by understanding that each team member will experience it differently. This person will also promote the old-and-new integration, the known and the unknown, and will foster collective intelligence to unlock the potential of rethinking to fulfill the new challenges. Has your organization transformed its leadership model yet?